The Stag and the Bird
by Lucie127
Summary: For most of her time at Hogwarts, Lily has been quietly sitting in the background, struggling to overcome the difficulties in her life. What happens when a group of the most popular and well-liked boys in the school takes a notice to her will change her life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! A while ago I had written a story that I never finished. When I decided to go back and finish it I just could no longer follow the story that my 14-year- self had come up with, so I decided to rewrite the entire thing. I hope to update somewhat regularly, but as I am currently in college you never really know. I hope you enjoy! All my love, Lucie

Disclaimer: anything you recognize does not belong to me

Lily lay sound asleep in her bed, the rain falling gently outside on a typical dreary London day. Her small form was curled up tightly to fight the slight chill making its way in through the window. She frowned as she tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, when suddenly she found herself quite unable to breathe.

She gasped at the sudden enormous pressure on her chest, and her eyes flew open to be met with- black fur?

"Ugh- Bear!" She sputtered, as she unsuccessfully tried to shove her giant horse-dog off of her. Unfortunately he seemed rather content where he was, and all of her weak shoving was clearly getting her nowhere.

"Oh sweet Merlin." Lily muttered to herself, bemused. "This is how I'm going to die- smothered in my sleep by my dog".

Luckily at that moment, her best friend and roommate Ben peeked his head inside. "Lil you're going to have to get up- Bear get down from there!" He laughed as the dog jumped down to enthusiastically kiss him and bound out of the open door.

Lily, catching her breath raised her head to thank him when "oopf". Ben rolled right on top of her, burying his head in her neck. Rolling her eyes again, she poked and prodded every inch of him she could reach until he finally rolled his heavy, muscular body off of her laughing.

She tried her best to smile back at him, but it felt forced and he noticed. They both sat up, but neither moved from the bed. There was a familiar heavy atmosphere that always came on September 1st. The day where they would have to leave each other to go to their respective schools, Hogwarts for Lily and Beauxbatons for Ben.

Lily felt a different type of pressure in her chest now, and she knew it would persist throughout the day, maybe the week.

"Hey" Ben said softly, moving Lily's dark red hair behind her ear. "Lil it's going to be fine- it's always fine. Now come on- I know for a fact you have yet to finish packing" He finished, grinning as she flopped back on the bed with a dramatic moan. She moaned again as they both heard the distinctive sound of glass breaking from the small living area in their suite at the Leaky Cauldron.

"BEAR" Ben hollered as he bounded out of the room to see what the dog had broken now.

Lily sighed and got out of bed. Stretching she took in the organized mess that was her room and cursed herself inwardly for procrastinating in packing for so long. Pulling her long dark red hair back into a bun, she set to work.

The summer had been long and hard. As Lily was an orphan and Ben was estranged from his family, they both had to get summer jobs to support themselves. They worked day and night at a cafe during the summer. The only real fun Lily had experienced these past two months was when she was able to go and play guitar on the street corner. She had even earned a bit of money.

She glanced at her slightly tattered school robes, and smiled ruefully. They were doing the best they possibly could. This had been their first summer where it was just the two of them.

Lily's mother had died of an aneurysm when she was six. She would never forget coming home from school to find her mother "sleeping" on the carpet. Her father had come home from picking her sister Petunia up to find his youngest daughter crying and trying desperately to wake her mother. Unfortunately, fate continued to be cruel to the sweet little girl and her friend.

Her father, the strong man Lily had always looked up to, had passed three years later when she was nine. He had died in a car accident that had almost claimed Lily's life as well. Both she and her sister had gone to live with their grandfather until he too passed away of cancer just last year. The girls had split up as Lily had chosen to try and live on her own, while Petunia moved in with her friends family.

While Lily did have another grandmother that lived in Wales, her life was in England. However, she always made sure to visit her, and the magical country she considered her homeland, as often as she possibly could.

Ben's story was entirely different. He came from a magical, pure-blooded family. His mother had passed when he was an infant, and his very traditional father had unfortunately disowned him once he discovered Ben was gay. They were just two misfits, trying to make it in a world that seemed always against them. But they had each other, and somehow, that was all they needed.

 _Flashback:_

 _Lily stood trembling as the coffin that held her grandfather, her beloved 'taid', was lowered into the ground._

" _Ben" she choked out, panic rising in her voice. The boy tightened his grip on her. "Ben, what are we going to do?" The tears came pouring out of her eyes now and Ben squeezed his eyes shut. There was nothing he could do to stop her pain. He could just try and hold her together. So that's what he did. He drew the sobbing girl into his arms and murmured comforting words into her hair._

" _I've got you. I've got you." He told her over and over again, tears leaking out of his eyes. "We have each other. I'll be your family." They stood there alone crying for a long time. They wept not only for the man they had both loved, but for the cruelly premature ending to their childhood. From now on, they were on their own._

They had met in a dance class when they were just four years old. Ben always joked that they were platonic soulmates, as the first thing they did when they got in the dance studio was to reach for the others hand, and they hadn't let go since.

Lily sighed as she surveyed herself in the mirror. She pulled her hair down and it fell in waves around her face. Large emerald eyes framed by thick dark lashes stared back at her from a face that always seemed too pale and too thin. She sighed in dissatisfaction, but moved on, double and triple checking that she had everything for the year. "Textbooks-check. Staff paper- check" It was a little sad, how her whole world fit in a large trunk. She mentally shook herself- 'enough with the self-pity' she thought angrily. She squared her shoulders, left the dingy, gray room she had spent all summer, and walked down to the bar where Ben was waiting for her with Bear.

Ben would floo to his school in France, while Lily and Bear would make their way to King's Cross station where the Hogwarts Express would be waiting for them.

Lily took a deep breath and held back tears. Ben smiled at her, but the wetness in his eyes was unmistakable. They hugged each other hard, Lily burying her face in his chest. She hated saying goodbye to her best friend, her brother in every way but blood. He was one of the only remnants of her childhood, of her family. He was her everything. He stepped back with a determined look on his face. "I love you, _Aderyn"_ He said. She smiled through her tears, as she always did when he used the nickname her family had always called her. "Bird" because of her beautiful voice and musical talents. Her beautiful voice that she didn't use nearly enough.

"I love you too" she murmured as she kissed his cheek. "Stay safe". He stepped in the flames with one last look at her, and was gone.

She hastily wiped the tears from her cheek. Looking down at Bear, he wagged his tail. "I guess we better get a move on, no?" She said with a forced lightness. They walked until she hailed a cab, and started their way towards King's Cross.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me

Lily took a deep breath as she looked around the bustling Platform 9 ¾. All around her friends were embracing excitedly after not seeing each other all summer, and families were having tearful goodbyes. She ducked her head and pushed her way through the crowd to get to the train. Lily had always been a quiet and shy girl (at least around those that didn't know her), and thus didn't have many friends to speak of. She was friendly with the girls in her dorm, but had always felt separate from the tight-knit group they had formed without her over the years.

She sighed in relief when she was finally able to board the train, dragging her dog behind her. She hoped that she had arrived early enough to secure a compartment without having to awkwardly ask a group if she could sit with them. Luckily, there was an empty compartment at the back of the train. She sank into the seat, relieved, and rested her head tiredly against the window. A yawn escaped her, and soon her famous emerald eyes were fluttering shut.

Back on the Platform every eye turned to look, either in envy or lust, as the most popular foursome in school arrived. The Marauders always knew how to make an entrance, and every girl sighed when James reached his hand up to ruffle his hair with a slight smirk on his perfect, chiseled face. Next to him, looking haughtily bored, Sirius Black surveyed the scene lazily with his steely eyes. He was inhumanly handsome and he knew it, rolling his eyes as one girl looked as if she was going to pass out when they passed. Remus Lupin, followed his friends, his hands shoved in his pockets, and looking tired as per usual. Peter stumbled along behind, his shorter legs struggling to keep up with his friends, as they approached the train.

Girls giggled and sighed as they passed, but the boys paid them no mind as they climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express. There were pranks to be planned, and time spent apart to catch up on. Everyone knew not to bother the infamous boys on the first train ride of the year. It was a sacred time, and the last person to intrude had been thoroughly hexed.

The boys made their way to their usual compartment at the back of the train, bantering and shoving each other all the way. Sirius slid open the door, only to stop short at the sight of the small girl curled up fast asleep against the window.

The rest of the boys smiles were wiped off their faces at the sight of someone in their personal compartment. Peter broke the silence.

"Let's just wake her up and tell her to shove off." He grumbled. Before anyone could stop him, he was reaching over to roughly shake her awake. However, before his hand even touched her, a loud snarl sliced through the air, and Peter suddenly squeaked and leapt backwards as a large dog snapped at his hand, with its hackles raised.

"Oh hey Bear", Remus said, reaching his hand out gently to stroke the top of the protective dog's head. "Sorry boy didn't see you there". Bear allowed the prefect to pet his head gently, and seemed to calm a little at the familiar presence.

"Damned dog almost took my hand off" Peter mumbled grumpily, as he cast a slightly fearful look at Bear.

"I wouldn't try to wake her again if I were you Wormtail", Sirius chuckled clapping the smaller boy on the shoulders as they all filed into the compartment.

"What we're just going to let her stay here?" Peter exclaimed in confusion.

"The poor girl looks exhausted; besides she's out cold". Remus said in defense of his fellow prefect that he had come to look at as a friendly acquaintance.

Peter looked at the other two boys beseechingly, but only Sirius was paying attention. He just shrugged.

James was staring at Lily, with an unreadable expression on his face. He watched as Bear settled in front of her, still watching Peter suspiciously in case he tried to touch his master again.

She was a pretty little thing, he thought slightly dazedly, as the sun filtering through the window lit up her fiery hair, and caused her long eyelashes to throw shadows across her delicate fair face. Even in her sleep she looked tense and pale, and he wondered absently if she was cold.

"Prongs? PRONGS" James shook himself out of the strange path his thoughts were going down and looked around to see his friends bemused looks.

"When you're done checking out Evans, maybe we can get started on our Welcome Feast prank" Sirius said wryly. Peter snorted next to him. James felt his face flush but just as he opened his mouth to hotly deny this, the train jolted and started off. They were on their way.

About an hour later, the boys had finalized their plans for the prank, and James and Sirius were playing a particularly violent game of Exploding Snap, while Remus read a book. Peter had backed out after his eyebrows were singed off for a third time, and instead took to cheering his friends on.

Lily had shifted in her sleep, and as James glanced at her, he noticed her eyebrows knit together and a frown cross her sleeping face. She looked like she was having a nightmare. He wasn't the only one who noticed, and he was dimly aware of Bear sitting up and watching his owner attentively. He whined lowly, and bumped his nose against her face. As James watched, her thick lashes fluttered open to reveal the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. He quickly averted his gaze as she sat up slowly, trying to orient herself.

Lily opened her eyes fully, and felt her mouth go dry at the sight of the Kings of the school looking at her. Shit! Shit shit shit. How the hell did she manage to forget that this was the Marauder compartment?! She felt her face flush and instantly looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do or say. Luckily Remus spoke first.

"Hey Lily, how was your summer?" He inquired politely. She looked over at him and inwardly smiled appreciatively. Remus had always been kind to her, and she had grown to enjoy his company on patrols over the past year.

"It was great" She lied easily. "Yours?"

They continued their small talk for a few minutes until Lily excused herself. They were quickly approaching Hogwarts and she had yet to change into her robes. When she reached the bathroom she leaned against the door for a few moments trying to calm herself. How could she have been so stupid to not notice she was in the Marauder's compartment?! She was surprised they hadn't woken her and demanded that she leave, or worse, hexed her. She surreptitiously checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure they hadn't turned her purple. Satisfied that she was indeed curse-free, she threw on her robes just in time to feel the train slowing down.

Lily splashed some cold water on her face. " _You've got this_ " she thought to herself as she grasped the door knob. She took a deep breath, grabbed Bear's leash and followed the flow of students off the train.

I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Please please please leave a review with any suggestions or comments. I love to hear from you guys! It may also encourage me to update sooner! All my love, Lucie


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me. Enjoy!

Lily hummed to herself as she made her way to the Great Hall for dinner. She had only had an apple this morning for breakfast, and she as positively starving. Bear trotted by her side, panting happily.

She slipped into a seat, piled some food onto her plate, and took out a notebook. She was trying to write a new arrangement of Suo-Gan, an old Welsh folk song her father had always sung her to sleep with. She furrowed her brow in frustration, as they melodies refused to add up in her mind. She was unaware of the glances a certain messy-haired boy was sending her way.

James felt frustrated and confused. Why couldn't he stop looking at her? She was just some random bird. His thoughts were stopped by the feeling of hands slinking over his broad chest. He started and turned to see Ashley Brown, the school slut, smiling demurely behind him.

"Jamie" she purred into his ear, as she wedged herself between him and Sirius. His best mate simply sent her a disgusted look before returning to his food. "I missed you so much, how was your summer".

He was saved from having to answer her by the sudden explosion of red and gold fireworks over the Slytherin table. Students screamed and ducked under the tables, as the sparks spelled out "WELCOME BACK".

Suddenly raucous laughter filled the Great Hall, as the Slytherins emerged from under their table flashing Gryffindor colors with looks of humiliation to complete the picture.

The Marauders all smirked in satisfaction. It was a simple prank, but a good way to get the year started. They all rose together, and exited the Great Hall feeling satisfied. Ashley and the rest of the girls for that matter watched them go with wistful longing. All except for one.

Lily had noticed the prank, but chose to roll her eyes good-naturedly and ignore it. It hadn't been cruel after all, and no one had gotten hurt. Despite what the rest of the school might think of her, she wasn't a complete spoilsport. Soon she had finished her dinner, and stuffing the rest of her papers in her bag, followed the tired, sluggish parade of students making their way to the Gryffindor common room.

She smiled at Alice and Marlene as they both tired waved hello to her. They exchanged pleasantries through yawns, and soon the lights were out.

Falling asleep that night was harder than she had expected. She tossed and turned until she finally fell into a restless sleep. The nightmares came for her very quickly that night.

 _Flashback_

" _Daddy?" A timid six-year-old Lily asked._

" _What's the matter sweetheart?" Her father asked wiping the sleep from his eyes. It was two in the morning._

" _I had another bad dream..." No sooner had she finished her sentence her father stood and scooped her up in his arms. He walked over to the old upright piano in the corner of his room. He sat down and she stared up him, still upset._

 _He looked down at her and said "Well little Aderyn, when I was little, my mother used to sing this song to me whenever I got scared. She said that it would make all the bad things in the world disappear for a while."_

 _Lily looked from his face to his hands as he began playing and singing the song Suo Gan. Even at the age of six she had impeccable memorization skills when it came to music. Her father repeated the song until she had fallen asleep again in his lap. He smiled down at her and tucked her into bed._

Lily woke up with tears streaming down her face. Bear whimpered softly next to her. Lily shuddered softly. Usually when she woke up from dreams like this she would either climb in bed with Ben, or would go and play piano until the trembling stopped. Ben wasn't here, which left her with one option.

She tiptoed out of bed, and made her way down to the seldom-used piano in the common room. Casting a silencing charm around herself, she sat down to play. The familiar notes came flowing from her fingers, and soon her sweet voice started to sing.

James had tossed and turned all night. Finally, with a frustrated sigh he realized he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Grabbing his glasses, he went down to read in the common room for a little while. He was halfway down the steps when he realized he wasn't alone. Frowning, he noticed Lily Evans by the piano. His brow furrowed when he noticed her playing but couldn't hear anything.

Taking his wand out of his pocket, he quietly removed her silencing charm, and his eyes widened when the haunting melody hit his ears. Her voice was the most beautiful and heartbreaking thing he had ever heard in his life. He stayed rooted to the spot, listening to words he didn't know the meaning of, but felt he understood.

As he heard the song drawing to a close, he subconsciously moved closer to her; close enough to see the slight wetness on her face. His heart seized in his chest at the sight of her crying. He wondered idly why he even cared. "I don't" He thought stubbornly to himself. He watched as she wiped her face, and stood up. She looked as drained as Moony on the day of a full moon.

As she turned, her foot got caught in the bench, she wobbled and would have fallen if James hadn't shot forward and caught her. Her small hands gripped his biceps for balance and he felt his heartbeat a little faster at the feeling of her small form against his broad chest. Merlin she was _tiny._ James thought to himself.

Lily's eyes widened at the sight of the boy who had caught her and was now holding her so gently against his rather, well-muscled, chest. She shook her head furiously to rid herself of those thoughts. Now was not the time to find James Potter attractive.

Color flushed to her cheeks, and her exquisite eyes widened before she hurriedly straightened herself and backed out of his grasp, almost tripping over her dog again in the process. All in all, she looked positively adorable. James stifled a smile.

"Th-thank you" She stammered, trying to look anywhere but his slightly bemused gaze. How long had he been standing there? What if he had heard her?!

"Anytime Evans" He said easily, trying to appear casual. He saw a tight smile cross her face before she hurried back up the stairs before anything else could be said. He let out a sigh as he watched her go. He tried to ignore the cold feeling that had come over him as she had wrenched herself out of his grasp.

He rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. He stifled a yawn and, forgetting about reading, climbed the stairs back his dorm.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, don't forget to review! All my love, Lucie


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please please please leave a review- I love to read them!

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me.

Lily woke up the next morning feeling rather stiff. Climbing out of bed she murmured hellos to her dorm mates, and walked into the bathroom for a shower. Memories from the previous night flooded back into her brain, and her face flushed in embarrassment. If James Potter had heard her singing- Lily cut off her thinking right there. She had put a silencing charm around her; everything was fine.

She got out of the shower and quickly changed for the day. A quick glance around the empty room proved that she was already running late. She stuffed a granola bar into her bag and hurried off to her first class of the day; Transfiguration.

She managed to arrive a few minutes before the bell, and took a seat at the back of the classroom, getting out her supplies for class. Just as the bell rang, Sirius Black burst through the door and slid into the first seat he encountered- right next to her. He ignored her completely, instead lounging in his chair and shooting a charming smile at Professor McGonagall's stern warning look.

Lily rolled her eyes and tuned into the lecture. 'NEWTS next year, start preparing now, better take this seriously, rest of your lives, etc etc' Lily tried not to sigh. She had a feeling she would get the same lecture in every class today in an effort to intimidate the students into either studying 24/7 or having a nervous breakdown; possibly both.

"And finally," Professor McGonagall continued "please take a good look at whoever you are sitting next to currently, as this person will be your partner for the rest of the year".

This got Lily's attention and she bit back a groan. This couldn't be happening. _Sirius Black?_ The boy didn't care about anything besides his friends and Quidditch! She couldn't imagine having to work with such an arrogant, aloof asshole all year long in her most difficult subject.

She shot him a look. He too, looked less than pleased.

The rest of the day went exactly as she had thought it would. At the end of the day Lily felt as thought she perhaps ought to have started studying for the NEWTS the day of her birth. The looks on the rest of her peers' faces made me think she wasn't the only one feeling the stress.

She sat with Alice and Marlene at dinner. They chatted about their summer and asked her about hers. She answered as evasively and politely as possible before steering the conversation back to the French boy Marlene had spent the summer snogging. She laughed as Marlene recanted the story of how her mother had walked in on them one day, which resulted in the poor boy being chased out of the house by flying pots and pans.

After dinner came the first patrols of the year. Lily smiled when she discovered she was partnered with Remus Lupin again. Despite his rather obnoxious friends, he was very friendly and sweet, and she enjoyed their light conversations.

He smiled at her as she walked up. "Hey Lily".

"Ready to go?", she asked and they started their patrol.

Walking along they discussed their summers, and first days, both commiserating over how hard the professors had been on them.

"Just wait until next year", Lily said gloomily, "McGonagall's probably just going to tell us to off ourselves while we still have the chance." Remus laughed.

"Unfortunately that sounds rather accurate. At least I'm partnered with Pr-James this year. He's best in our year in Transfiguration, so I figure I at least have a fighting chance of passing."

"I'm stuck with Black", Lily said gloomily without thinking. She immediately looked at him. "I'm so sorry, I know he's your friend-"

Remus was too busy laughing at her guilty expression to answer right away. "Mate or not I know he can be a right prat sometimes" he replied, the affection in his tone softening the words. "For what it's worth, he's a bloody genius; as long as you can suffer through it you're likely to do well".

She smiled, relieved that he didn't seem upset with her for insulting one of his best mates.

As they rounded the corner to finish their patrol at the Gryffindor common room, a heavy black fur ball slammed into her at full force. Bear wagged his tail madly at the sight of Lily whom he hadn't seen in hours. She laughed and pet him. "What have you been up to you loon?" Images of running around outside, and playing fetch with Hagrid filled her mind.

No one save the teachers knew the actual reason Lily Evans was allowed a dog at Hogwarts. Bear had been given to her by her grandfather after her dad had died. They had shared a special bond since the moment they met. Lily had never understood why, until she had learned about 'familiars'. This special magical bond, along with the fact that a very tenacious 11-year old Lily had refused to come to Hogwarts if she couldn't bring Bear, had made Dumbledore bend the rules for her.

Remus smiled as he reached out to pet him as well, earning a lick in response. They bade each other a friendly good night, as Lily and Bear made their way to the girls dormitories, and Remus walked over to where his friends were sitting by the fire.

"Budge up" he told Sirius who laid sprawled out across the entire couch. Sirius raised the arm that laid across his eyes and smiled.

"Moony! Finally, we've been waiting for ages!" He exclaimed without moving.

With a huff, Remus shoved his legs to the side and took a seat.

"How were patrols?" Peter asked without looking up from his homework.

Remus shrugged "Same as always. Mostly just talked to Evans-"

"Must have been boring then" Sirius said ducking as Remus chucked a pillow at his head.

"She's actually rather funny and sweet if you ever tried talking to her instead of torturing her." Remus grumbled.

"Well he's going to have to talk to her now- Transfiguration partners and all", James chimed in.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Sirius groaned. "I don't know how much of 'little miss perfect prefect' I can take without throwing myself out the window."

Remus just rolled his eyes and sighed. It was no use trying to convince his idiot friends that Lily was actually a rather lovely girl, if not a little quiet.

Up in her room, Lily lay on her bed, oblivious to the conversation going on downstairs. All she wanted to do was to take her guitar and play for hours, or talk to Ben. She would give anything to just talk to him the way the Marauders were downstairs talking to each other.

She sighed and rolled on her back staring up at the ceiling. Bear whined lowly at her feet. She absent-mindedly rubbed his head with her foot. ' _I hope I don't have nightmares tonight '_ was her last thought before her eyes grew heavy and fluttered shut.

Please feel free to send me any suggestions- I am not sure where this story is going just yet, so I am very open to any ideas anyone has. All my love, Lucie


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me.

Lily sat in the library, leg bouncing rather anxiously. A week had gone by since school started, and along with the mountain-load of coursework they had been received, they had been assigned their first transfiguration assignment. Right now she was waiting for Sirius to join her so they could work on it.

Finally he swaggered in, five minutes late. "Evans", he said coolly as way of greeting as he sat down across from her, his steely eyes evaluating her with a haughty expression that was still somehow infuriatingly handsome. However Lily refused to be one of those many girls that obsessed over the popular group, and kept her face expressionless.

"Black" she replied copying his cool tone and posture. She thought she saw a flicker of surprise cross his face, but it was gone before she could be sure.

"Right then, now that you're here, let's get to work." She declared.

Lily was surprised to find that find that working with Sirius was not nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. His snide remarks about the assignment were actually quite funny, and the boy really knew his stuff. They worked for a little over an hour until they were both too worn out to continue.

"I'm not going to make it to Christmas break." Sirius groaned, leaning back in his seat. Working with Evans had actually not been the terrible experience he had anticipated, in fact, it had almost been pleasant? Not that he would ever admit it of course. They had managed to complete half the project so far. Pretty decent considering it wasn't due for another two weeks.

Lily was about to respond when a loud tap at the window next to her head nearly made her jump out of her skin. She stood up, eyeing the owl at the glass, before opening it and letting him in. He settled on the table and stuck out his leg. A letter was attached, and Lily would recognize the handwriting on the envelope anywhere. She felt a smile cross her face, and was about to eagerly rip it open when she realized Sirius was studying her curiously.

"Right, well. I think that's enough for today. I don't think my brain can handle any more." She admitted. "Let's just finish it up another time, yeah?" He shrugged in agreement.

She gathered her things, and set off for the dormitories. As soon as she was alone she ripped the envelope out of her bag and opened the letter from Ben. She missed him so much she felt like she was going to cry; hence the reason she wouldn't open it in front of Sirius.

Salut Aderyn,

I'm going to cut to the chase here and say that I miss you, you depraved little dwarf. I forgot about how utterly dreadful everyone at this school is. Transitioning back to French full-time is a terrible business. I never thought my tongue could feel _sore_. I'm an embarrassment to my poor mother tongue. I hope your first week went better than mine. I don't see how it couldn't have. Sorry this letter is so short. I'm writing between classes and nervous breakdowns. I could really use one of our therapy sessions right now. Tell Bear I miss him more than you. (I'm kidding- not really). Anyways I love you and write me back immediately.

Love always, Ben

Lily closed the letter with a smile on her face. Despite his talk about nervous breakdowns, he sounded like he was doing well. She would have to write him back later. Right now she had free time and other plans. She felt a smile twist her face as she hurried back to her dorms to change and fetch her music.

When she was ready, she headed for the Room of Requirement, Bear padding along behind her. She had discovered earlier that it was the perfect private practice space. No one could disturb her here.

The room housed a beautiful grand piano, which Lily had taken to using quite often. Her fingers would fly across the keyboard accompanied by her soft voice. The music floated around the room and seemed to light the place up for a while.

When she played she felt at peace, like she was six years old and her family was happy. She could almost hear her father's booming laugh. Slowly, her fingers slowed and she reluctantly opened her eyes as the last note finally faded into silence. She stood, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Gathering her things,she made her way to the door which opened up immediately for her. The room was nothing if not accommodating Lily thought wryly.

Rounding the corner to go back to the dorms, all she could think about was a scalding hot shower and sweatpants. So preoccupied with her thoughts she nearly ran straight into Mulciber and Avery who had been rounding the corner at the same time. Instantly her guard was up, and her mind went straight to where her wand resided in her skirt pocket. She regarded the pair warily as Mulciber sneered at her.

"Watch where you're going Mudblood." He hissed at her. Lily felt her face darken. She hated that word. Just as she was opening her mouth to snap at him, she felt a warm, heavy hand settle lightly on her back. Her head whipped around, only to be met with the unfairly handsome face of James Potter. The angry retort died on her lips as she regarded him slightly perplexed. But he wasn't looking at her.

His face held one of the blackest expressions Lily had ever seen and she silently thanked the heavens it wasn't directed at her.

"Say it again" Potter murmured menacingly. "I dare you".

The two boys regarded him with distaste, but Lily could see a flicker of fear in their eyes. It was not secret that James Potter was one of the most powerful people in the school. Not only was he Gryffindor Quidditch, the most popular boy in school, unofficial leader of the Marauders, and the sole heir to one of the richest most influential families in the wizarding world; he was also incredibly smart, and a very powerful wizard. If Lily was being completely honest with herself, she was definitely a bit jealous.

Deciding that insulting Lily again was not worth the wrath of James Potter, the boys simply glowered at him and passed, Avery knocking into Lily slightly with his shoulder.

As soon as she was sure they were gone, she quietly moved out of his grasp, and his hand once again hung at his side. She eyed him curiously, with a bit of suspicion. Potter had never done anything nice for her, or for anyone outside his group of friends to be honest. In fact, she could name a few times she had been the butt of one of Marauders crueler pranks.

"Um… thank you." She said uncertainty.

He still looked furious, and she wondered at that. He hadn't been the one being insulted. Why did he care?

Her weak expression of gratitude seemed to shake him out of his anger. He opened his mouth as if to say something, however he seemed to think better of it and settled for a terse nod.

Well alright then, Lily thought to herself. She gave the boy one more confused half smile before continuing her way to the Gryffindor Common Room. This had truly been one strange day, and she was more than ready for it to end.

A few days later, Lily was wandering about the castle aimlessly. She was in desperate need of a break from all the studying she had been doing.

Walking through the corridors of her school, humming to herself pleasantly, she suddenly heard a loud CRASH. She stopped short, looking around her in bewilderment. CRASH. There is was again. Hesitantly, she slipped her wand into her hand and walked over to the abandoned classroom the sounds seemed to be coming from.

"It's probably nothing" she assured herself. "Probably just Peeves." But she couldn't quite stop the sudden racing of her heart as she grasped the doorknob in her hand. One. Two. _Three._

Lily felt her eyes widen and she hit the floor as a chair smashed into the wall behind where her head had just been. SMASH.

She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Sirius Black stood in the middle of the classroom, face as dark as his name as he used both magic and his own brute force to throw the furniture around the room. He didn't even seem to notice that she was there as he continued his campaign of destruction.

Lily felt her own anger rising. _What the hell was he doing?!_

" _Expelliarmus_ " She shouted and disarmed him easily. _Too easily._

Sirius finally turned to look at her as if just seeing her for the first time. Lily felt her blood run cold. The look on his face was one of a rabid dog. Anger, hurt, bitterness, desperation and a thousand other emotions swirled around in his grey eyes as he looked at her. They just looked at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Get. Out." He snarled at her. Lily almost booked it right then and there, but then remembered her anger.

"What.. _.the hell_ … are you doing Black?" She asked incredulously, ignoring his demand for her to leave.

His eyes narrowed at her. Lily felt pretty positive that if he still possessed his wand, she would have been thoroughly hexed by now.

"Evans-" He growled in warning as he advanced a half step towards her.

"You could have hurt someone, you could have hurt yourself!" She continued, still incredibly confused.

Sirius gave a humorless laugh that made Lily wince. "Oh please, spare me." He spit. "Why don't you just give me a detention and get the fuck out."

Lily felt her eyebrows furrow as concern for this obviously troubled boy replaced the anger.

"What's wrong?", she asked softly and cautiously. She was careful to disguise the pity in her voice as she was sure he wouldn't appreciate it.

Sirius just glowered at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Well obviously something's wrong if you're just in here just tossing poor unsuspecting desks around. You know when I'm mad, I prefer to punch something".

"What could possibly be wrong in your perfect little life?" Sirius bit viciously. Lily just looked at him tiredly.

"I'll tell you what. I'll let you in on my shitty life, if you let me in on yours. And if you just tell me what's wrong, I won't give you detention."

Sirius looked at her suspiciously. He had never really _looked_ at Lily Evans before besides to mock her quiet, prissy demeanor. But the slight spasm of agony that had danced across her face, and the defeated look in her eyes had been enough to make his anger dissipate somewhat. It was like one broken spirit recognizing another.

"My little brother- he's being recruited by Death Eaters." He said before he could stop himself. The look of horror and compassion on her pretty face proved to be the straw the broke the camel's back and to his complete horror, Sirius felt tears welling up in his eyes.

His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, as pure pain and self-loathing took over him. He should have been there. He should have helped his brother. He shouldn't have left. He continued to stammer until he felt the small girl's arms around him as she pulled him to her, hugging him hard.

It had been too long since the stoic womanizer had allowed a girl or anyone for that matter to just hold him.

As the tremors overtook him, he buried his wet face in her neck and just surrendered to his emotions for the first time in a long time.

Lily stayed in that one position for a long time, just letting Sirius Black cry in her arms. It felt a bit surreal she thought to herself. She had never imagined Sirius Black was even capable of showing emotions to anyone but another Marauder. She hummed softly as she rested her chin on his head. She was no stranger to pain, and knew that sometimes the only way to help someone was to be physically there for them. How many times had she held Ben just like this, and he her, as they both fell to pieces as their lives were doing the same?

Sirius stirred slightly in her arms, and her arms fell away as he sat up away from her. He was a little embarrassed and ashamed for falling apart in front of Lily Evans of all people. However, as he glanced at her face, there was no judgement nor pity to be seen. Just understanding.

"All right then". He cleared his throat, trying to muster up what was left of his dignity. "You know my darkest demons- your turn to spill".

Lily swallowed. She _had_ promised him. For the next two hours, the two sat and talked. She told Sirius Black all about her parents, her grandfather, her sister, her best friend, and everything in between.

She could tell he was more than a bit surprised. She wasn't quite the 'little miss perfect' everyone thought that she was. He told her about his messed up family and their beliefs. How they followed Voldemort. Sirius couldn't take it anymore and had moved in with James, getting himself blasted off the family tree in the process.

She had looked at him quite fiercely and in no uncertain terms told him that he was one of the bravest people she had ever met. In that moment, Sirius knew that this quiet young girl had somehow wrestled her way into his icy frozen heart.

The weeks after the incident in the classroom were some of the strangest Lily had ever encountered. It seemed that seeing Sirius Black cry and hearing his deepest secrets meant that she was now his friend. And being his friend was very _interesting_ to say the least.

Their newfound companionship spread throughout the school like wildfire, and Lily found herself subject to more jealous glares and whispers from random girls than she could count. All the attention made her extremely uneasy, but she found herself suffering through it because, in all honesty, she rather liked Sirius Black.

Not at all in a romantic way, but almost the way she thought of Ben. Once she got past the cold exterior, she found him to be a funny, charming and fiercely loyal friend. And Lily was in no position to turn down such friendships; especially because of petty girls. All in all, her life was going a lot better than she could have ever hoped.

I hope you this enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions! All my love, Lucie


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please leave a review if you feel so compelled. I really love reading them and hearing any suggestions, criticisms or views that you have. –Lucie

Disclaimer: anything you recognize does not belong to me!

November 3nd

Lily was usually able to handle her emotions very well. Over the years she had become so accustomed to the pain of living without the people she had loved more than anything else, that putting on a brave face like nothing bothered her was more like routine at this point. Except on certain days. Days like the third of November.

November 3rd was the day Lily had lost her mother. Every year on the anniversaries of her parents deaths, Lily allowed herself to be weak. She allowed herself to look at pictures and albums of her parents, and of the early childhood that became dimmer each passing year. Today she allowed the fear that one day she would wake up and not remember her mother's face, voice, laugh to grip her in its paralyzing hold.

On days like these, she usually secluded herself with Bear, and just let the pain and mourning that had never truly gone away to just wash over her. She found this made it just a little bit easier to hide it all away on every other day of the year. Luckily, due to three different corridors being flooded with water from a spell gone awry, the school had been forced to give the students the Friday off, much to her classmates delight.

November 3rd found her sitting by the lake under the beech tree, with Bear laying at her feet watching her silently. An old Welsh storybook lay haphazardly open on her lap, but for the moment she preferred to just stare at the lake, glittering in the dim sunlight that filtered through the clouds. This was how Sirius found her.

He was now the sole person in the school that knew what today meant- what its significance was to her, and he was damned if he was going to let her suffer through it alone. Her not showing up to breakfast or lunch had put him in a bad mood, and he had enlisted the help of the Marauders Map in order to track the redhead down. He paused as he took in her closed-off, quietly anguished face from a distance and his brow furrowed in distaste. He much preferred her laughing and happy.

He closed the distance between them, dropping gracefully down beside her. He smirked at she was noticeably startled at his appearance but said nothing. She sighed and rested her head against the trunk of the tree.

"How did you know I was out here?" She questioned him.

"Love, a Marauder never reveals his secrets." His smirk grew wider as she rolled her eyes at him.

"What's this what are you reading?" He questioned as he picked up the book on her lap, frowning and turning it upside down as he found he couldn't understand a word. "What is this alien language?"

Lily laughed a real laugh for the first time that day as she playfully yanked it out of his hands. "It's _Welsh_ you git. It's just an old storybook".

"Ah, then, what are you doing? Tell me a story!" He sprawled out beside her, crossing his arms behind his handsome head and closing his eyes.

Lily cocked an eyebrow at him that he couldn't see. She shook her head with an affectionate smile. She didn't think she would ever understand this strange boy.

"Darling, unless you suddenly speak this 'alien language' you won't understand a single word" She pointed out, bemused.

"Eh. Translate, don't translate. Whichever you prefer." Sirius declared waving an arm impatiently in the air for her to start.

She shrugged, and opened the book up to her favorite story "Briodferch y llyn Coch" (The Bride of the Red Lake). She started slowly in English, translating as she read, her soft voice bringing the words to life. Pretty soon she was transfixed by the beautiful story, and memories of her mother reading it to her before bed filled her mind. Without realizing, mid-sentence, she began reading in Welsh.

Sirius lay quietly, letting the unfamiliar, musical words wash over him. Her sweet lilting voice filled the space around them, and he let himself relax into the ground. He didn't understand what was being read to him per say, but he felt the joy and then sorrow in her voice. When she finally finished, they just sat in silence, drawing comfort from the others presence until the shadows lengthened and a chill came over them.

Lily sighed as she entered her room. Sirius had pleaded with her to go to dinner and eat something, but the prospect of it made her feel sick. Instead she was just going to write a letter to Ben and head to bed early. November 3rd couldn't be over soon enough.

Lily woke up the next morning to find her dorm mates had gone quite mad. Alice was in hysterics and Marlene was desperately trying to calm her down.

"I can't go on a date looking like _this_!" Alice exclaimed loudly. "Frank is never going to ask me out again! I look like a psychopath!"

Lily heard the sheer panic and distress in her voice and climbed out of her bed curiously to see what was going on.

Alice's hair was in a disarray and it looked like she had tried to apply some kind of makeup and failed miserably. Lily understood the situation immediately. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Frank (whom Alice had fancied for years) had asked her out. It only made sense that she was going completely berserk.

Lily smiled and walked over. "Do you want some help Alice?" She asked kindly. Marlene looked at her with so much gratitude that Lily had to hold back a laugh.

"Maybe I should just cancel." Alice said miserably, looking at them with sad caramel eyes.

"You are not cancelling." Lily told her firmly. "Go sit down in that chair. I'll help you with your hair and makeup. Marlene, could you pick out an outfit for her?"

Marlene nodded quickly, squeezing her arm in thanks as she made her way to Alice's trunk. Alice sat down in the chair, still looking dejected. Lily gathered some of her beauty supplies and set to work. While she didn't always wear makeup everyday, she found she was still rather good at it. Making Alice look flawless was going to be easy.

She removed the failed attempt from her face, and set about putting on light natural-looking makeup that suited Alice perfectly. A neutral eyeshadow that made her eyes pop and blush that gave a pretty flush to her cheeks. When she was done, she curled Alice's hair into loose curls that framed her face and bounced down her back. She stepped back and beamed at her work. Alice looked beautiful.

Marlene came around her with some clothes and gasped. "Lily you're a genius". Alice looked at the two of them with trepidation. Marlene shoved a pretty blue v-neck sweater, jeans and some boots at her. "Get dressed".

Alice stood in front of a mirror with her eyes closed. "I'm scared" she admitted, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Alice you look gorgeous. Frank is going to have a heart attack when he sees you." Lily said smiling.

She opened her eyes fearfully, and took in her transformation with surprise. "Wow". She said shocked. "I don't look like a dementor anymore". Lily and Marlene laughed.

Alice turned and enveloped them in a big hug. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you!"

"You look amazing, now get going before you're late!" Marlene exclaimed shooing her towards the door. Alice shot them once last sweet dimpled smile before hurrying down the stairs to meet Frank.

Marlene turned to Lily with wide eyes. "Thank you so much. I think if another minute had gone by she would have spontaneously combusted." Lily laughed.

"Anytime" She said waving away the thanks. "Honestly this date needs to go well. Those two are so clearly made for each other." She said smiling.

"Ugh tell me about it." Marlene groaned. "Want to grab breakfast?"

Walking down chatting lightly, they ran into Remus walking down from the boys' dormitory.

"Morning!" Lily called out smiling at her fellow prefect.

He smiled back. "Heading to breakfast?" He asked.

"Yep." Marlene answered, a slight blush coming to her cheeks from talking to a Marauder.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked. "All the other boys have dates today." He added rolling his eyes.

"Of course", Lily said happily. Marlene's blush grew more pronounced but luckily no one noticed.

When breakfast ended, the three just decided to head into Hogsmeade together. Lily desperately needed some new quills, and found that she definitely wouldn't mind a butterbeer.

She was surprised that she was having such a lovely day. The three of them were laughing and joking and just generally having a good time.

"Where's Bear today?" Remus asked curiously as they sat in The Three Broomsticks.

"He's with Hagrid. I like to leave him there sometimes so he can run around and get some exercise." She explained. "Besides, Hagrid adores him."

Remus nodded, but before he said anything was distracted by something over her shoulder. His slightly disgusted face made Lily turn to see what he was looking at.

James Potter and Cassidy Hall were full-on snogging a few tables over. Lily felt her nose wrinkle slightly in distaste before she turned back around.

Marlene had a similar expression on her face. "I thought Cassidy was dating that David bloke from Hufflepuff?" She questioned.

"Apparently, she broke things off last week. Now she's set her sights on James." Remus replied glumly lifting his mug to take a drink.

"More like set her tongue on him." Lily muttered. Remus choked on his butterbeer and soon all three of them were laughing almost uncontrollably.

They were so preoccupied, none of them noticed Sirius sauntering up to the table. He swept into the seat beside Remus, and took a swig of Lily's butterbeer. Marlene went bright red. She never thought she would be sitting at a table with _two_ Marauders!

"Hey Sirius, how was your date?" Lily asked wiping a tear out of her eye as she tried to control herself.

"Not nearly as much fun as you lot seem to be having." He answered wryly shooting her an amused look. He was happy that she seemed to be doing a lot better than yesterday. Just then he caught sight of his best mate and Cassidy. The same look of disgust crossed his face.

"Merlin, she looks like she's eating his face."

Lily, Remus and Marlene all exchanged a look before dissolving back into laughter while Sirius looked at them as though they had gone mad.

Later that evening as Lily lay curled in her bed she thought about how differently this year was going. She smiled as she remembered how Alice had practically floated back into their dorm, dreamily recounting the details of her date to her and Marlene. They had stayed up laughing and eating chocolate until nearly midnight. She couldn't remember a time when she was this happy at school.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

Life only got busier as Christmas was rapidly approaching with homework was steadily piling higher. The professors seemed to be hell-bent on tying up all their current lessons before the break.

Even Sirius was feeling the pressure balancing both Quidditch and school work. Potter, who was the Captain of the Gryffindor team seemed to be running his team into the ground with practice and training in order to prepare for the January match against Ravenclaw. Along with the full moon that had been just last week and he was about to fall over. Not that he let it show of course.

The two were almost too exhausted to work on their Transfiguration project. Lily was trying not to cry as she looked over all the work they still had to do. She was just so _tired._

Sirius noticed immediately. He took in the circles under her eyes, her pale face and slumped figure. Pushing aside his own weariness, he rallied himself and tried to cheer up his friend. He cleared his throat.

"So what are you doing for Christmas then?" He asked, still on the same paragraph he had been ten minutes ago.

"My friend and I saved up enough money this summer to visit my grandmother in Wales." Lily responded, scribbling down some notes. "Should be fun."

"Muggle friend?" He asked. He had heard her talk about this "friend" before, but didn't know anything about him/her.

"No, he's a wizard, he just doesn't go here." She answered dully. "What about you, any special plans?"

"Spending it with the Potters as usual." He answered shrugging. "Doing what we normally do; play Quidditch and generally cause mass mayhem." Recognizing that gleam in his silver eyes, Lily almost felt bad for Mrs. Potter. Sirius and James together were a force to be reckoned with. However one word sparked her attention.

"Speaking of mayhem" Lily started with a smirk "I've noticed it's been pretty dull around here lately. What's going on with you lot?"

Sirius furrowed his brow as the words sank in before slowly lifting his gaze to meet hers in confusion. Lily held back a smile but her eyes sparkling mischievously, gave her away.

"Are you _encouraging_ us to break the rules?" Sirius asked incredulously.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh please I would _never_ do that." She teased him. "All I'm saying is things have been rather boring around here lately. I think everyone could use a good laugh."

Sirius was still studying her looking slightly mystified. He felt fully awake now, and slightly ashamed. If Little Miss Prefect Evans was lecturing him about a lack of pranks the Marauders really must be falling behind. Exhaustion was no excuse for a lack of mischief. He would have to have a few words with his brothers tonight, Sirius thought tensely to himself.

The next few days the Marauders came back with a vengeance. It seemed Sirius had really took her words to heart, Lily thought as she studied the castle that had apparently gone crazy overnight. On Monday , all of the Slytherin's owls had somehow been confounded, and all of their mail was scattered all around the castle. Tuesday the Charms wing was unexplainably filled with popcorn, the day after that the Slytherins were cursed and could only bark to communicate all day, and the day after that, well, you get the point.

Lily had been right about the pranks lifting the students spirits (well, maybe not the Slytherins), as the student body seemed decidedly more cheerful despite the stress of school. At breakfast the morning of the barking incident she made eye contact with Remus where he sat with his mates. He grinned at her and made a gesture with his arm as if to say "Well, is this what you asked for?" She laughed and gave him a thumbs up.

Unfortunately, some of the pranks had an unfortunate result. Tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin were rising, and as a known friend of both Sirius and Remus, Lily found herself on the receiving end of quite a bit of abuse.

The whispers of "mudblood" now seemed louder, and she had been bumped into quite a lot, often causing her books to go spilling across the floor. While it was annoying, she was able to ignore it for the most part. Until it all came to a head one day.

She had left Bear with Hagrid, so he could run around a bit while she did homework and played a bit of piano. She was walking back from the library when she felt her bag split open. She sighed in annoyance and, grumbling to herself, went about trying to gather all her scattered papers.

As she struggled to collect her things, she felt every hair on her neck stand up. Her breath caught in her throat and she froze, realizing with a sinking heart that she was no longer alone in the corridor. Turning her head she held back a wince as she saw Mulciber and Bellatrix Black's smirking faces. She stood up and went to pull out her wand, but was a second too slow.

" _Expelliarmus"_ Mulciber said lazily flicking his wand and disarming her.

"What do you want?" Lily asked, keeping her voice steady.

Bellatrix sneered at her, the ugly look marring her beautiful face. "We want to send a message to my dear cousin and his little friends. Getting to curse a dirty little Mudblood is just an added bonus."

Lily opened her mouth to retort, but was suddenly hit with a wave of pain. She was dimly aware of falling to her knees and hearing Bellatrix laughing with malevolent glee. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire, and when she pulled her hand away all she saw was red. Her vision went hazy and then everything went black.

James Potter was taking an evening stroll after a successful Quidditch practice. He was in a fantastic mood. This week the Marauders had played many successful pranks and the Gryffindor team was playing fantastically. They would be in great shape for their match against Ravenclaw. The icing on the cake was that he had dumped Cassidy. She was a great snog, but had started telling all her friends he was her "boyfriend". James felt a scowl come over his face. He didn't do relationships.

Walking around the corner he stopped short at the sight of a small figure collapsed against the wall. His brow furrowed in confusion. He would recognize that red hair anywhere.

"Evans?" He questioned as he approached her. He crouched down next to her, and it was then that he saw the blood pooling on the floor. His face went white. There was too much blood. Realizing it was coming from her shoulder, he cast a quick spell to help staunch it, and then, without thinking, easily scooped her up in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder as he hurried towards the Hospital Wing.

He burst through the doors, startling Madame Pomfrey. She turned to scold him but gasped at the sight of the limp girl in his arms.

"Put her over here." She ordered as she rushed over to her supply cabinet.

James complied, gently laying her on a bed, moving some of her hair out of her face. He snatched his hand back, as he saw Madame Pomfrey hurrying back, her arms full of potions. He scowled as she ripped the curtains shut around the bed, then he caught himself. "I'm not worried, she's a Gryffindor! Besides, she's mates with Remus and Sirius now. _I_ don't care about her." He told himself as he stood outside the curtains feeling rather useless.

Not ten minutes later, he heard a commotion at the door.

"Ah- stop it you bloody beast. Come _here_." He heard Sirius say followed the sounds of a struggle and loud bark. With a glance at the curtain, James walked over and opened the door, and found his mate struggling with Lily's dog.

Sirius looked surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?" James was cut off from answering as Bear took advantage of the open door and bounded inside, nearly knocking him over. He sat down and whined lowly outside of the closed curtain where Lily was. Sirius looked confused.

"What's going on? I found Bear throwing a fit by the front door. He took off when I opened it for him. Figured Lily would kill me if I lost her dog." He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization as he took in where they were.

"What's happened, where is she?" He questioned as he felt his heart fill with dread.

After James had filled him in, Sirius looked murderous. "I'll bet you anything it was my bloody deranged cousin and her little posse of Death Eaters." He snarled.

James looked over his best mate, surprised at the pure black fury on Sirius' face. He didn't quite understand the relationship between Sirius and Lily, and would never admit he felt a bit jealous at how close his friend had gotten to the red-haired beauty. He knew it was nothing romantic, Sirius had told him as much.

His musing were interrupted by the sound of the curtain being thrown open. Sirius and James both rushed over. Madame Pomfrey held up a hand to fend off Sirius's questions.

"She will be fine Mr. Black. She lost a lot of blood, but should make a complete recovery. She will probably wake up in a few hours. Now if you would excuse me" She said as she bustled off.

James and Sirius looked solemnly down at her. With her ashen face, bandaged shoulder and long titan curls strewn about her pillow, she resembled a broken doll. Bear rested his chin on the edge of the bed, watching her intently.

"Thanks for helping her out mate" Sirius said softly, clapping James on the shoulder. James could only nod numbly.

The two boys stayed by her side, and were later joined by Remus, Peter tagging along.

They sat around in chairs, chatting lowly, when Lily began to stir.

They immediately quieted and looked over at her.

"Lily?" Sirius questioned softly as he stepped closer to the bed.

"B-ben?" She murmured as her eyelids fluttered. James felt an unfamiliar pang in his chest that he couldn't quite place as Lily woke up calling for this "Ben" bloke.

Lily felt her eyes focus and was immediately confused as her eyes met Sirius' worried grey ones. She looked past him and her confusion grew as she noticed the rest of the Marauders. Why was she in the hospital wing? Why did she feel as if she had been hit by a bus?

"What happened?" She croaked out in confusion as she tried to sit up, but was immediately met with a flash of pain in her shoulder. She was sure her face conveyed it as Sirius gently pushed her to lie back down.

"Madame Pomfrey!" She dimly heard Remus call she she slowly settled back onto the pillows.

The nurse came bustling out of her office, hurrying when she saw that Lily was awake.

"Drink this." She ordered, shoving a vial in Lily's face. She complied, wincing as the disgusting liquid burned its way down her throat.

"What happened? What am I doing here?" She managed to get out, after successfully choking the potion down.

"You lost a lot of blood dear." Madame Pomfrey told her gently. "Nasty curse someone got you with. You were lucky Mr. Potter was around."

' _Mr. Potter_?' Lily thought in puzzlement. Her emerald eyes reluctantly scanned the room until they met his figure standing quietly in the corner. He looked a little uncomfortable as the room's attention was suddenly on him. Lily's confusion only doubled. Usually he loved being the center of attention.

James cleared his throat, bringing his hand up to ruffle his untidy hair, his handsome face turning sheepish under the questioning looks.

"Why yes dear" Madame Pomfrey began. "He was the one who found you, carried you all the way here" she clarified.

Lily felt her face flush. _James Potter_ had _carried_ her up two flights of stairs? She glanced at him again, noticing the blood stains on his white shirt for the first time. She winced.

"Sorry about your shirt." She said automatically.

Sirius snorted next to her. "You lose probably half your body weight in blood and _you're_ the one apologizing?" He mocked lightly.

"Well Sirius, his shirt is clearly ruined. It's the polite thing to do." She snapped back, the teasing sparkle in her eyes easily giving her away.

She glanced around the room. "When can I leave?"

Now it was Remus' turn to snort. "I think it's safe to say not anytime soon." He said laughing at the pout that crossed her face.

"This is absurd! I feel perfectly fine!" Lily declared, throwing her legs over the side of the bed before any of the boys could stop her. She made it half a step before her legs gave out from under her, Sirius easily caught her and deposited her back on the bed. Before he could say anything, Madame Pomfrey was rushing back to the group, having seen Lily's little stunt.

"Miss Evans I insist that you stay in this bed until at least tomorrow morning. You are in no shape to be up and moving about." She exclaimed.

Sirius nodded and gestured at the nurse as if to say " _see?"._ Lily glared at him.

"But I can't! I have too much to do." Lily protested in vain.

"I absolutely _insist_ that you stay here tonight." Madame Pomfrey said. The final look in her eye was enough to make Lily slump onto the pillows in defeat. "Now the rest of you lot can move along. Miss Evans needs her rest."

The boys filed out, Sirius dropping a kiss on her head and warning her to behave herself, laughing as she flipped him off.

Lily sighed as the doors swung shut. She rolled onto her side and was met with Bear's worried gaze. "Sorry for worrying you love" She whispered stroking his head. "I'm going to be fine." He whimpered lowly and bumped her with his nose.

'I can't believe Potter of all people was the one to help me.' Lily thought to herself. 'I mean he looked positively _worried_ -' She cut off her thoughts right there. 'I'm a Gryffindor of course he was worried. He would have looked the same if it had been Alice or Marly.'

As she fell asleep that night she tried desperately not to think about the look in his hazel eyes when she had awoken, or the fact that it had given her butterflies.


End file.
